


As We Go Along

by shinealightonme



Category: Boy Meets World
Genre: Fluff, Holiday, M/M, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-25
Updated: 2008-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-03 19:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinealightonme/pseuds/shinealightonme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for lievv in the Yuletide 2008 Challenge.</p>
    </blockquote>





	As We Go Along

**Author's Note:**

> Written for lievv in the Yuletide 2008 Challenge.

The phone call came on the morning of December 27th, just as Cory was pouring himself a cup of hot cocoa to help him wake up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cory, it's me."

"Oh, hey Eric," Cory answered. "Something go wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Eric laughed. "Why would you think that?"

"Because this is you we're talking about?" Cory suggested. "Or just because I didn't expect to hear from you for a few days. Aren't you having fun?"

"Yeah, dude, that's totally why I called you. You gotta see this."

"See what?" Cory was used to his brother's habit of starting conversations in the middle, but that didn't make it any easier to understand when he was being exasperatingly vague.

"This place, man, it's unbelievable. It's huge, and it's just - dude, you gotta come see it."

The place in question was the home of the Wittners, a couple who was close friends with Jack's stepfather and had asked Jack and Eric to housesit for them while they went to Europe for the holidays. Since they were just as rich as Jack's stepfather, Cory found it easy to believe that their house was impressive. He was intrigued by the invitation, but that didn't mean that he could accept.

"Eric, it's out on Cape Cod," Cory reminded him, knowing Eric could sometimes get confused about where he was.

"Yeah, I know," Eric said defensively. "Just drive out, it's not that far, and stay for a few days. They won't mind. Bring Shawn with you. Don't you think he and Jack should spend the holidays together, huh?"

He had a point, although Cory wasn't going to admit that just yet. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally."

"Let me talk to Jack," Cory insisted.

"Oh, fine, sure," Eric grumbled, but handed the phone off to his roommate.

"Hey Cory, Eric and I thought it would be cool if you and Shawn came over for New Year's."

"And you're sure that the Wittners won't mind?"

"No, just as long as you don't make a mess - and I trust you guys in that regard more than I trust Eric."

Cory heard an indignant "Hey!" in the background, but he and Jack both ignored it. "Okay, yeah, that'll be great."

He called Shawn and informed him of their new plans. Shawn was excited, both by the prospect of getting out of town and hanging out with Cory and Jack. Cory's parents, however, were significantly less thrilled about the idea.

"You want to go to Massachusetts for New Year's?" Alan repeated incredulously when Cory brought the matter to them for their approval.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"You're too young to be on your own for that long," Amy fussed.

"I won't be on my own - Eric, Jack, and Shawn will be there. It'll be fine, just like staying over at the apartment."

"I don't like you being so far away for New Year's," Amy protested. "It's family time."

"Eric is family."

"I thought you had plans with Topanga."

"I did, before we broke up."

"I don't understand what happened with you two," Amy sighed. "I thought things were going so well."

Cory just shrugged. Even if he knew what to say, he wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it, especially not with his mother. "So did I."

They were interrupted by a knock. Looking up, they saw Shawn standing at the door, waving a gloved hand at them and carrying a backpack. When Cory waved back, he let himself inside.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Matthews," he said. "Cory, you ready?"

"Not yet. They aren't sure we should go."

"Why not?"

"It's not that we don't trust you," Amy assured Shawn, "But you're awfully young to be own your own for a week."

Cory rolled his eyes. "Mom, we're seniors in high school. In a few months, we'll be in college and on our own all the time."

Alan, ever practical, asked, "How do you even plan on getting there?"

"Road trip!" Shawn said, before realizing that his enthusiasm was not particularly well timed.

"Have you ever even driven in the snow before?" Alan scrutinized his son.

"Yes," Cory said. "It'll be fine."

"Besides," Shawn piped up, in a more appropriate tone of voice, "It's a clear forecast for the next week. We'll have no problem."

Alan sighed and fished the car keys out of his pocket. "Don't drive over the speed limit," he said sternly before handing them over to Cory.

"You're okay with this?" Amy demanded.

"It's just Massachusetts, it's not that far," her husband tried to placate her. "Besides, they'll have Eric and Jack to look after them." He reconsidered. "They'll have Jack to look after them."

Amy pursed her lips but didn't press the issue. "Oh, all right. But you'll call every day you're out there, and you'll call us the minute you get in to let us know you're okay."

"Yes, ma'am," Cory and Shawn answered, perfectly in sync.

They waited until they were outside, putting their bags in the car, to high five each other and exclaim, "Yes!"

"Cory, this is going to be sweet," Shawn said as he jumped into the passenger seat. "You, me, the open road, and then New Year's with my brother in some rich guy's house."

"I know! I guess Eric can have a good idea."

Shawn just nodded and started fiddling with the radio station while Cory checked his rear-view mirror. "You mind being the navigator?" he asked, handing Shawn the directions that Jack had dictated.

"Sure," Shawn said, "But might I suggest, before we get too far, a quick stop?"

"Why's that?"

"Well, what's the one thing every road trip needs?"

Cory thought about it for a second before grinning. "Snacks," he answered, and steered the car towards the nearest grocery store. They grabbed a basket at the door and immediately started filling it with a variety of packaged junk food and sodas.

They were squabbling over the comparative virtues of Doritos versus Lays chips when Cory spotted her. Elbowing Shawn in the side, he whispered, "Shawn, look."

"Jeez, did you have to push so hard?" Shawn complained, ignoring Cory's attempts at shushing him. "What is it?"

"Shawn, it's Topanga."

Shawn glanced around quickly before he managed to spot her. "Cory - this is a sign," he said, finally lowering his voice.

"A sign?" Cory frowned. "A sign of what?"

"That we should take Topanga with us! Oh man, I can't believe I didn't think of it. This is the perfect chance for you guys to get back together."

"What? Shawn, no, we can't just - "

Shawn was paying no attention to him, though, and had already walked over to the next aisle. "Hey, Topanga."

Topanga smiled brightly at them. "Shawn, Cory, hi!"

Cory gritted his teeth and whispered, "What are you doing, Shawn?" before saying loudly enough for his ex-girlfriend to hear, "Hey, Topanga, what's up?"

"Just picking up something for dinner," she shrugged and noticed the contents of the basket Shawn was carrying, "which I take it is not what you're doing."

Shawn followed her gaze down to the junk food. "That's right. We are, in fact, stocking up for a drive."

Topanga still looked skeptical at the complete lack of nutritional value, but simply replied, "It sounds like a long drive."

Cory attempted to end the conversation. "You're right, and you know, we better get going, or we'll be late - "

Shawn interrupted. "As a matter of fact, we're driving out to Cape Cod."

"Well. Have fun with that," Topanga answered.

"Sure will," Cory smiled at her and glared warningly at Shawn. "Nice running into you."

Shawn wasn't about to give up so easily, though. "Actually, we were thinking you might want to come with us."

Topanga arched an eyebrow. "To Cape Cod? Now?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Well for one thing, because that's really sudden, Shawn. I have plans."

"Something more exciting than a week in Cape Cod with your friends - and no chaperones?" Shawn lowered his voice and raised his eyebrows suggestively at this last point.

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

"Come on, Topanga, why won't you come with us?"

"Because I think Cory and I need to start spending less time together," she answered bluntly.

Cory's interest in the conversation had previously lain only in getting it to end as soon as possible, but he was hurt by her comment. "You don't want to be friends?" he asked.

Topanga sighed. "Of course I do, Cory, but we need some space or we're never going to get over this." She turned to Shawn and her tone became sterner. "And I know you, Shawn Hunter, and if Cory and I are together anywhere near you, you're going to try and play matchmaker."

"Well I'm sorry that I still don't understand why you broke up with him," Shawn accused, not sounding very sorry at all.

"And I'm sorry you feel that way, but it's over." Shawn would have questioned her further, but her next remark threw him off track. "Besides, there's someone else you should be with, Cory."

The best friends looked at each other, confused.

"Wait, who are you supposed to be with?" Shawn asked.

"I don't know," Cory shrugged. "I thought maybe you knew."

"I don't know."

Cory looked back at Topanga to see that she was walking away, shaking her head. "Wait," he called out. "Topanga, this is crazy."

"No, YOU TWO are crazy," she called back, and continued a few more steps before she turned around again. "Have a good New Year's. I'll see you when you get back, okay?"

When she was gone for good, Cory and Shawn shrugged at each other. "Women, huh?"

They continued walking the aisles, and Shawn said, "Sorry that didn't work out."

Cory just shook his head. "No, it's all right. I mean, it'd be weird, us all on a car trip together when we're not really getting along." He paused to try and make sense of his thoughts and why, exactly, he hadn't wanted Topanga to come with them in the first place. "I thinkÉI think Topanga might be right. Maybe we do need to spend a little time apart. You know, figure things out, meet new peopleÉ" he trailed off at the idea which had never occurred to him before, but wasn't nearly so scary now as he'd thought it would be.

Shawn was shocked. "Wait, you don't want to get back together with Topanga?"

"I don't want to be with someone who doesn't want to be with me," was Cory's immediate response, but he knew there was more to it than that. "And yeah, I mean, I miss her, but maybe it is time to try something new."

Shawn didn't have much to say for the rest of their time in the grocery store, or even after they'd returned to the car. He was lost in thought, trying to sort out the emotions that Cory's confession had stirred up.

Cory, meanwhile, wasn't sure why Shawn wasn't talking, and worried that he'd said something wrong. The uncomfortable silence lasted for several minutes, until a familiar song came on the radio.

"Oh hey, I love this song," Cory smiled. "Turn it up."

"This?" Shawn demanded, rolling his eyes but complying. "This is a terrible song."

"I wouldn't say that. I think it's pretty good," the driver answered. "Besides, you know, I always kind of thought of it as our song."

"Our song?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, remember the time we went out to do karaoke?"

"Oh, right. I forgot about that," Shawn smiled, because while that had been an awkward and embarrassing experience, it had also been a lot of fun. "I can't believe you got me to sing this, though."

"I thought you liked it," Cory insisted.

"It's all right, I guess," Shawn mused. "But I don't think it's our song."

"No?"

"No, I mean, if we're going to have a song, we should pick it together."

"Well what do you want?"

"I don't know. Let's just see what comes on."

The next song was a boy band hit. They both shuddered and reached over to change the radio station at the same time. Unfortunately, they couldn't agree on what to change it to.

"The passenger gets to pick the music," Shawn insisted.

"What? How does that work? That doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does. If the driver picks the music, then they get distracted from the road every time they try to change the radio. That's why the passenger gets to choose."

"No, the driver gets to choose because the driver's doing all the work."

"Oh, all the work, huh?" Shawn smirked. "So I guess you don't need me to read you the directions, then."

"Fine, fine," Cory surrendered. "But just because I like you."

"Guess I'm lucky," he said, and opened a package of Oreos. "Want one?"

"Of course. What kind of question is that?" Cory reached out to take a cookie.

Rather than letting him get one for himself, Shawn pulled the box away and handed him a cookie. "No, no, you have to keep your attention on the road."

"Yes, dear," Cory sighed. "Actually, if you could..."

"What's that?"

"Twist the top of my Oreo off for me?" Cory asked.

"Do I have to do everything for you?" Shawn replied, but did as he asked.

"You were the one who said I shouldn't be too distracted."

"You could just eat your Oreo like a normal person." Shawn took a bite out of his own cookie to demonstrate.

"Come on, lots of people twist the tops off. That's the whole point of eating an Oreo, you lick the middle off first and then you eat the cookie parts."

"If you were supposed to eat them separately, they'd come separately."

Cory started laughing. "It's true!" Shawn insisted.

"No, no, it's not that," Cory explained. "It's just...we've been having this same argument for years. I remember eating lunch with you in elementary school and you said the same thing then that you just said now."

"Well, that's not my fault. You used to eat Oreos the way I did."

"Did not," Cory denied. "You used to eat them the way that I do."

"That's a lie."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!" Cory repeated.

Shawn shook his head. "Do you ever think we'll get tired of it? Sitting around, having the same conversations over and over again?"

"We haven't yet," Cory shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to stick together and see what happens."

"Sounds good to me," Shawn agreed, twisting apart another Oreo for Cory.

-

They made it most of the way to the cape before the excessive amounts of soda they'd ingested necessitated a pit stop.

Shawn beat Cory to the bathroom, so Cory waited outside impatiently, looking at the people and cars at the gas station to distract himself. "Funny," he thought. "That car looks familiar..." But just then Shawn finished and stepped outside, and Cory forgot about it momentarily.

They were running low on gas, so Cory figured they might as well fill the tank, since they were stopped already.

"Okay, great. You do that. I'm going inside." Shawn pointed at the gas station store.

"Why? We still have plenty of snacks."

"I'm not going to buy anything," Shawn promised. "I'm just cold."

"Oh fine, just leave me standing out here in the cold, all by myself. I don't mind, you go enjoy yourself."

"You're a good man, Cory," Shawn slapped him on the shoulder and went inside, whistling.

"Way to recognize sarcasm, Shawn," Cory called out after him, but Shawn just waved at him without turning around.

Cory grumbled under his breath but went back to pumping gas into the tank. He was interrupted a few minutes later by Shawn, who came running back out of the store. "Cory! You'll never guess who's here!"

"Santa?" Cory guessed randomly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Santa's probably on a beach in Jamaica somewhere. Guess again."

"I don't know. Just tell me, Shawn."

"Mr. Feeny."

"Seriously?" Cory looked around but didn't see his neighbor anywhere. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, he was buying gum in the store, but he pretended he didn't recognize me when I tried to say hi."

"That Feeny, huh? Such a joker." Cory thought about it for a second. "You know, I thought I saw his car earlier. Over there." He pointed, and this time, sure enough, he could just spot Feeny, sitting inside the car.

"Looks like he's trying to make a break for it," Shawn observed.

"Yeah, but he's not going anywhere."

"Car trouble?"

"Maybe he's just listening to some music."

"Come on, let's go see if he needs any help."

Cory quickly finished with the pump and joined Shawn on the walk over to Feeny's car. Feeny didn't notice their approach, as he was staring down at his ignition and fiddling with the key, and so he jumped up in surprise when they rapped on his window. He scowled at their smiles and waves, but rolled down the window anyway.

"Hello Mr. Hunter, Mr. Matthews," he greeted politely but hurriedly. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, actually, we thought maybe we could help you," Cory answered.

"You look like you're having some car trouble," Shawn continued.

Mr. Feeny frowned and tried starting his car again. "I am, as a matter of fact, my car died. I called a tow truck and it should be here soon, but I thought I'd see if I could get it to start anyway."

"You try jump starting it?" Shawn asked.

"Yes, I tried that," Mr. Feeny snapped. "May I remind you that I have been driving longer than you've been alive?"

"Touche, Mr. Feeny, touche," Shawn grinned. "Where are you headed? Maybe we could give you a lift."

"Back home."

"Oh, we just came from there," Cory explained apologetically.

"That's quite all right, Mr. Matthews, I can arrange my own transportation."

"Nonsense! Why don't you come with us, Mr. Feeny? We're going to spend New Year's with Jack."

"I would hate to intrude."

"No, really, it wouldn't be a problem at all," Shawn assured him.

Feeny looked as though he were still trying to figure out a way to get out of going along when Cory mentioned, "We're going to Cape Cod."

"Cape Cod." Feeny sounded impressed. "Well, I suppose, as long as you're being so generous as to offer, I wouldn't want to disappoint you by refusing."

"Great!" Shawn exclaimed. "The more the merrier."

Just then, a tow truck pulled into the gas station. "Excuse me, gentlemen," Feeny said, gesturing for them to step away from the door so he could open it. "I believe this is for me."

"Sure thing, just meet us over by my car," Cory said before he and Shawn walked away. When they were a safe distance from Mr. Feeny, Cory nudged Shawn and hissed, "What is this, you want to take everyone with us?"

"Is that a problem?" Shawn asked.

"No, but if you'd mentioned it sooner we could have brought my parents and Morgan along, too," Cory answered sarcastically.

"Come on, Cory, his car broke down. Isn't this the time of year for a little charity and good will toward men and all that?"

Cory half-shrugged, because it wasn't really that he minded helped out Mr. Feeny, or even having him along. "I just thought, you know, it was going to be our vacation."

"It will be. Just...Feeny and Eric and Jack will be there, too."

"All right," conceded Cory, before adding more brightly, "You owe me a getaway for two, though."

Shawn smiled. "Sure thing, Cory, whatever you want."

Mr. Feeny joined them after a few minutes talking to the tow truck driver and seeing that they got his car on its way properly. Shawn helped him put his suitcase in the trunk and they took their seats, with Feeny now riding shotgun and Shawn sitting in the back seat, leaning forward. Cory took a second to look at the directions before handing them back to Shawn, and he commented idly as he pulled out of the gas station, "You know, Mr. Feeny, Eric is going to be glad to see you."

"Eric? Your brother is going to be there?" Mr. Feeny looked mildly horrified when Shawn and Cory nodded. "I've changed my mind."

"Ah, come on, Mr. Feeny, we're already on the road," Shawn pointed out. "Relax, it'll be fun. You can find somewhere in Cape Cod to escape from him."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Mr. Feeny muttered darkly, leaning forward and changing the radio to a classical music station. Shawn and Cory glanced at each other briefly to exchange silent protests but ending up grinning, despite the unfortunate music selection.

-

Just as Cory had expected, Eric was thrilled to see who they had brought with them. "Fee-nay!" he called out, running up to the car and pushing his face against the window. "Fee-hee-hee-nay! What are you doing here?"

"Cowering," Feeny answered drily. "I was brought against my will."

"Don't be a Grinch, Mr. Feeny, you wanted to come," Shawn tsked, before getting out of the car to greet Jack.

"Full disclosures were not made as to the nature of this vacation," Feeny objected, but that didn't stop Eric.

"Ah, Mr. Feeny, you know you want to spend New Year's with me. Come on, I'll show you the house, it's so cool." Eric more or less dragged Feeny out of the car and led him up to the house - which could more properly be described as a mansion. It definitely lived up to Cory's expectations.

Cory got out of the car a little more slowly, just as Jack said something about helping Feeny escape and walked back to the mansion himself. Shawn and Cory were left to carry the stuff inside, although they took a few minutes to decide who would carry what. Feeny's suitcase was rather large, and neither of them wanted to carry it; finally Cory got Shawn to do it by reminding him that it had been his idea to bring Feeny along, and after all, his bag was the smallest. As a compromise, Cory agreed to carry in the remains of the food.

Once they got inside, though, they realized they had no idea where they were going, and with Jack off chasing Eric, they didn't have anyone to tell them where they were supposed to be sleeping; given the scale of the house, this was a bigger problem than they'd thought.

"Whoa."

"Yeah."

They stood in the living room and admired the gigantic Christmas tree and the huge fireplace. "I think this room is bigger than my dad's trailer," Shawn said.

"I think it's bigger than my parent's whole house," Cory agreed.

"Let's go explore," Shawn said, tearing his eyes away from the tree and dropping Feeny's bag by the door.

"Okay," Cory agreed. "We should see if we can find the kitchen first, though."

They wandered past the living room and into the kitchen, where Cory was able to set down the food and Shawn raided the pantry, finding it adequately supplied with holiday treats. "Candy cane?" he offered, but he friend waved him off.

"Nah, not hungry." Cory did, however, open the fridge in search of something to drink. "Ooh, eggnog!"

"Hey, give me some."

"Get some cups."

"Where?"

"How should I know?"

Shawn rummaged through a few cabinets and eventually found some glasses. "Here you go."

"Great." After taking a long sip, Cory looked around. "More exploring?"

"Sure. I'm getting tired of carrying my backpack around."

They wandered upstairs but were distracted from their searching by the second story balcony, which had an amazing view of the beach. "Shawn, check it out," Cory said, placing his bag down and opening the door to step outside.

"Bit chilly," Shawn grumbled.

"Oh, who cares about that?" Cory demanded. "Look at that view!"

"It'd be easier to appreciate the view if my hands weren't freezing," Shawn complained.

"Let me," Cory sighed, taking one of Shawn's hands in his own to warm it up.

Shawn couldn't bring himself to look away from their hands, wrapped around each other and resting on the balcony's railing, but Cory didn't seem to notice; he was appreciating the scenery, which was made slightly less scenic by Eric, running along the beach shouting, "Feeny? Where'd you go, Feeny?"

"You know, this is nice," Cory commented.

Shawn laughed a little. "What, your brother being a spazz?"

Cory was feeling more serious, though. "No, I mean us, just...drinking eggnog, looking at the view."

"Holding hands?" Shawn said, half as a joke and half as a question.

"Yeah, that too."

Cory still wasn't looking at him, which made it a lot easier to say what he'd been thinking of saying ever since they'd run into Topanga. "I love you, man."

"I know," Cory answered. "I love you too."

The ease with which he'd said that made Shawn suspect that he hadn't got his point across. "No, I mean, I love you."

Cory paused to consider this, before nodding and looking back over at Shawn. "Yeah, I know."

Shawn cleared his throat, uncertain how to respond. He knew he'd needed to say it, but now that he had he wasn't sure what came next and how it would change everything.

Or maybe it didn't change anything, because it was still just him and Cory looking at the view together, just like it had always been.

When in doubt, make a joke - it was a philosophy that had seen Shawn through life just fine so far. "So how about taking that getaway for two this spring break? Where do you want to go?"

Cory laughed, "I don't know, somewhere warm. Florida? Hawaii?"

"Tutoring?" suggested a familiar and entirely unexpected voice. They whirled around.

"Feeny?!" Shawn gasped.

"How long have you been standing there?!" Cory demanded.

Feeny pointed down to the beach, where Eric could still be seen walking back and forth. "Since I managed to get away from the Ghost of Christmas Crazy," He answered drily.

Cory grimaced and let go of Shawn's hand. "You're not going to say anything, are you? You know, to my parents?"

Mr. Feeny gave the boys a long, calculating stare. "Mr. Matthews, I don't think anyone who knows you two is going to be very surprised at all." With that, he walked off, leaving them more than a little surprised.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Cory asked in a hushed tone, as though Feeny were going to jump up behind them again.

"I don't know," Shawn shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

"Guess not," Cory answered. There was really only one thing that mattered now, so he reached back over to hold Shawn's hand again.


End file.
